


The Last Time

by juliabsquared



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Violence, F/M, Fighting, Magical Accidents, Revenge, Turn her into a plant already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-11-02 03:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20604881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliabsquared/pseuds/juliabsquared
Summary: I don’t care,she told herself.It’s fine. This is fine. Jealousy was another ugly emotion that she simply refused to acknowledge. Seeing them together was nothing.Strength, now there was a feeling she could work with. If she was strong, that meant she had control, and if she had control, that meant she wouldn’t lash out.Persephone overhears an incident in the office and gets a taste of what being the Dread Queen really means.





	The Last Time

**Author's Note:**

> Content warning: Contains descriptions of domestic violence. Inspired by the events of episode 76.

> “The next time you raise a hand to me, will be the last time you have hands.”
> 
> _ — Game of Thrones _

Dread was an ugly emotion, and not one Persephone was accustomed to feeling. But it was apt to describe the knot that formed in her stomach anytime she rode the elevator to the 99th floor of Tower One. She had dropped her scarf on the way to work that morning, and Hermes had found it but was too busy to deliver it to her. He had texted her asking if she could come to his office to grab it, so here she was. She steeled herself for any encounter she might have with Hades, or worse, with that waif who was constantly hanging off his arm lately. 

_ I don’t care_, she told herself. _ It’s fine. This is fine_. Jealousy was another ugly emotion that she simply refused to acknowledge. Seeing them together was nothing. _ Strength_, now there was a feeling she could work with. If she was strong, that meant she had control, and if she had control, that meant she wouldn’t lash out. Strength could be a terrible power, she knew, but unlike dread and jealousy it could also be used to her advantage.

She was making her way back to the elevator when a pair of tense voices stopped her in her tracks. Hades was in his office with someone. The voices were muffled but a moment later the door opened, allowing Persephone to hear every word. He was arguing with a woman. Or rather, she was arguing and he was attempting to placate her. The female voice dripped with condescension, and the ichor running in Persephone’s veins nearly froze, rooting her where she stood. Minthe. 

Feeling anxious, she snapped at the rubber band she wore around her wrist. It was a trick she was trying at the suggestion of her therapist, meant to keep her emotions in check. If she could focus on that one small detail, she could cool down her thoughts enough to remain in control. A fire started building deep in her chest, impossible to ignore. She took a deep breath and peeked into the office.

“This has nothing to do with her.” Hades’s voice was calm, detached. 

“Don’t you dare give me that. I saw the text on your phone! You were talking to her, weren’t you?” Minthe was angrier than Persephone had ever seen. Her ears were flat back against her hair, like those of a hissing, snarling cat. 

“She just had a question about work, it wasn’t anything.” He held out both hands as if to show her he had nothing to hide. 

Minthe waved the binder she was holding, and Persephone thought she saw Hades flinch. She quickly ducked away from the door, pressing herself to the wall outside the office, out of sight, while Minthe continued her verbal assault. “Bullshit. You think I don’t know what’s going on? You think I haven’t seen it?” 

“Please just listen to me,” he begged. Somehow the emptiness in his voice only added to Persephone’s rage, as if the void inside him was nothing but air, meant to fan her flames. 

“What were you even trying to achieve here?” Minthe demanded. “You’re insane if you think anyone else would ever want to be with someone as fucked up as you! I’m doing you a favor, and _ this _ is how you repay me?”

“Tadpole, I’m sorry–”

“Shut the fuck up!” Her voice was like ice. “All you’ll ever be is the pathetic son of Kronos, who also happens to reek of death. Sometimes I don’t even know why I put up with you!”

_ CRACK! _The unmistakable sound of skin hitting skin made Persephone wince. Her face stung as if she was the one who’d just been slapped. She drew in a shaking breath, trying to make sense of the emotions rearing their heads inside her. Dread was gone. So was jealousy. It was rage and hatred that fueled the fire in her chest like dry kindling. 

Absentmindedly, she started twanging her rubber band again. But this time it wasn’t helping. Each snap echoed in her ears, a grim reminder of what Minthe had just done. _ How dare she? _ Persephone could suppress her own jealousy as much as she liked, but seeing Hades mistreated like this pushed her over the edge. In her mind she saw the red hands, clawlike, ready to scratch his eyes out. _ You’re insane if you think anyone else would ever want to be with someone as fucked up as you. _ Persephone’s throat felt dry, and she imagined the fire burning out of control, consuming everything in its path until that nymph could never raise a hand to him or to anyone else for the rest of her miserable life. She was shaking; her head was ringing. Each snap of the band and each inhale she told herself to get a grip, to keep it under control, to just stop it, stop it, stop it, _ stop it, STOP IT– _

“What the hell?”

Persephone was only dimly aware of the sounds coming from the office. A faint pop, followed by a binder clattering to the floor. Cautiously she peered around the corner, into the room.

Minthe’s binder was lying open on the floor, papers scattered everywhere, but the nymph herself was nowhere to be seen. In the spot where she had been standing was a small potted plant. Hades was staring at it, perplexed, still touching his face where she’d struck him. He looked up when he heard Persephone enter. 

_ Did I do that? _ She almost didn’t believe it, but deep down she knew it was true. The last embers of the fire smoldering inside her told her as much. She felt a perverse sense of satisfaction knowing that Minthe could never hurt anyone ever again. Especially not Hades. Feeling his glowing red eyes on her, she blurted out the first thing she thought of. “I’m sorry.” _ No, I’m not. But what else can I say? I just turned his girlfriend into a plant! Gods, he’s going to hate me forever now. _

Confusion and worry lined his face. Persephone couldn’t help but notice his skin flushed a darker blue where he’d been hit. “You did this?” 

Her anger dissipated when her powers were unleashed, it seemed. Now all that was left inside her was a hollow sadness. She felt like she might cry. “I swear I didn’t mean to, it was an accident! I just got so angry at her, and I lost control of my powers for just a second–”

“How in the Fates’ name did she make you angry?!” Hades raised his voice, but whether it was in shock or anger Persephone couldn’t tell.

“She slapped you!” Silence rang out. It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. 

He looked stunned. “W-What?”

“I just stopped up here to get my scarf back from Hermes. And I accidentally overheard… those things she said to you.” Persephone’s voice was spiraling, louder and higher pitched with each word, bringing her closer to tears. “And then… and then she _ hit _ you.”

“And that made you angry enough to turn her into a plant?” he asked. “_Why_?”

“Why wouldn’t it? In what universe would that _ not _ upset me?!” _ How can he not at least understand that? _ “To hear her tearing you down like that, it’s just…” She tried to stop herself but she was already crying. Hot, angry tears spilled down her cheeks. “_No one _ deserves to be treated that way, especially not you, and it fucks me up that you don’t see it!”

Hades sank into his chair, face buried in his hands so he didn’t have to look at her. “You like to think too highly of me. Deep down you know I’m no good.”

“No! Deep down, I know that you’re _ hurting._ And I’m sorry. I really, honestly am.” She used the offending scarf to wipe away some of her tears. “Be mad at me all you want for what I did to Minthe, I get it. But don’t sit here and act like I’m wrong for thinking you deserve better! I won’t apologize for that.”

“Stop… Just stop.” His voice was paper-thin, exhausted. “I’ve had enough of other people’s pity.”

The forlorn look on his face broke her heart. But there was nothing she could do to help him unless he also helped himself, she realized. She wrapped the scarf around her throat, preparing to leave. “This isn’t pity, this is me caring about you as a friend. I just wish you cared, too.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the God of the Dead to wonder if he was the world’s biggest idiot for letting her. 


End file.
